ENV BIOL 7311A - Sustainability: Research Project Pt A

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2019

The course will provide students with the opportunity to spend a semester conducting a research project under the direction of a University of Adelaide supervisor with a government or industry partner where appropriate. The project will focus on an area of research spanning governance, technology and innovation, social responsibility, science and the environment and/or economic issues relevant to climate change and sustainability.

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Course Details

Course Code	ENV BIOL 7311A
Course	Sustainability: Research Project Pt A
Coordinating Unit	School of Biological Sciences
Term	Semester 2
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	ENV BIOL 7310
Restrictions	Available to MSustain & MSustain(Adv) students only
Assessment	Major Research report & presentation

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Ms Jenny Reiners

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

A successful student in this course should be able to:

1	Demonstrate knowledge of content and/or techniques relevant to sustainability spanning governance, technology and innovation, social responsibility, science and the environment and/or economics;
2	Demonstrate an understanding of a specific area of study at an advanced level of international relevance
3	Locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned and timely manner;
4	Demonstrate sound verbal and written communication skills
5	Apply effective, creative and innovative solutions to current and future problems;
6	Show a commitment to the highest standards of professional endeavour and the ability to take a leadership role in the community.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1,2,5
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	3,5
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	4
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	1,2,5,6
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	2,6
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	6

Learning Resources

Required Resources

No specific text book is required for this course. Students will be expected to access literature and databases relevant to their reseach project.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

The course will provide students with the opportunity to spend a semester conducting a research project under the direction of a University of Adelaide supervisor with a government or industry partner where appropriate. The project will focus on an area of research spanning governance, technology and innovation, social responsibility, science and the environment and/or economic issues relevant to climate change and sustainability.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

A student enrolled in a 12 unit course, such as this, should expect to spend 48 hours per week on their studies.

Learning Activities Summary

This requires preparation of a major piece of written work based on personal research. Students are encouraged to prepare the output of your project in the format of a paper

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Task Type	Due	Weighting	Learning Outcome
Seminar or conference presentation	Formative & Summative	To be negotiated with supervisor	30%	1-6
Research report or paper	Summative	Last week of semester	70%	1-6

Assessment Detail

Presentation
Students are required to give a 15-20 minute presentation of their key findings at a school forum or conference

Report
The findings of the research must be presented as a written report either in the format of a thesis or as a paper(s) for publication (10000-15000 words). Those students choosing to submit their work in the format of a paper will be required to follow author instructions for their agreed journal.

Student thesis is due by the last week of semester and will be assessed by the supervisors and/or external examiners nominated by the supervisor.

Submission

Late Submission
If an extension is not applied for, or not granted then a penalty for late submission will apply. A penalty of 10% of the value of the assignment for each calendar day that the assignment is late (i.e. weekends count as 2 days), up to a maximum of 50% of the available marks will be applied. This means that an assignment that is 5 days late or more without an approved extension can only receive a maximum of 50% of the marks available for that assignment.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

NOG (No Grade Associated)
Grade	Description
CN	Continuing

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator